Xerxes I · Sophocles Were Xerxes I and Sophocles alive at the same time? Yes. Xerxes I and Sophocles were alive at the same time, from c. 496 BC to 465 BC. Xerxes IFifth Achaemenid emperorBorn 519 BC · died August 465 BC, aged 53 or 54SophoclesAncient Greek playwrightBorn c. 496 BC · died c. 406 BC ConfuciusAeschylusXerxes ISophoclesHerodotusSocratesHippocrates Xerxes I and Sophocles in bold, with some of their best-known contemporaries. Drag across to see the age each reached in any year. Faded ends mark uncertain dates.